Broadcasts For

Papuans

Good Work Through 9PA

AN interesting development of the war period in Papua is the organisation of a radio broadcast service for Papuan natives. The natives take an extraordinary interest in it; and, if it is carried on as it was begun, it may become an important factor in the future govern ment of the Territory. .

The service was commenced by Major W. R. Humphries, formerly Senior Resi dent Magistrate, about May, 1944; it later was carried on by Captain Baskett; and in October, 1944, Major-General Morris, who has taken a keen and consistently helpful interest in the new service, put Sergeant Maynard Lock, of ANGAU, in charge of the radio session.

Sergeant Lock was born in Papua, son of W. N. Lock, who was superintendent of SDA Missions there. He could speak Motuan before he spoke English. He was in the Papuan Public Service when war came; he enlisted, and was later trans ferred to ANGAU. His brother, Private Earl Lock, became his assistant; and now these two, with the aid of two well trained natives, conduct the Motuan radio session from station 9PA (Port Moresby) three times a week; run a small library (which is rapidly growing) for natives; and issue a monthly eight-page stencilled newspaper in Motuan. The radio programmes are transmitted on long and short waves on:— Sundays.—News of patients in the various native hospitals, transmitted by radio and picked up in the various vil lages. If there is time, a fable (story) is broadcast. Educated natives supply the stories, for prizes of 5/-. More stories arc submitted than the staff can comfortably cope with.

Tuesdays.—War news and local news, with explanatory notes. If there is not enough local news, there is a medical talk.

Thursdays. Mostly entertainment stories from listeners and readers, and musical items. One Thursday in each month is “Children’s Day.”

ONE day in each month the session is devoted to the work of the Papuan Central Training School. The TB hospital, established on Gemo Island in Moresby harbour by Sir Hubert Murray in the thirties, was taken over by ANGAU as a base hospital and train ing school for Europeans and selected

natives many of whom in due course are to do ’medical work among the native villages Officers from the school give talks in Motuan—news of the school, lectures concerned with medicine, hygiene, sanitation Selected natives are brought to the microphone, to give their own version of events in the hospital to their fellow-villagers.

The most popular items are those given by the native choirs, which include a children’s choir. The choirs are conducted by Sergeant Lock.

Ao on nor r-pnt nf Pannans can S about 80 per cent, of Papuans can understand Motuan, this new feature of native administration is ranidlv becoming popular. The native villages eagerly subscribe around £3O for the purchase of a community receiving

set. It has four or five valves, runs on dry batteries (which remain good for about six months), and is jealously kept in the house of the village constable.

The whole community gathers at fixed times to listen in. The nearer villages use the long wave; but more distant places receive on short wave. The broad casts now reach between 4,000 and 5.000 natives; and the audience is increasing as fast as wireless sets can be obtained.

This use of radio directs attention to the use of Motuan, which the Murray Administration tried, over many years, make lingua franca of the Terri .

There are very many different lan guages in Papua (as in most Western Pacific Territories), and each tribe speaks

Motuan differently. To-day, few people can speaks pure Motuan. The Motuan that is in general use—and which is used in radio —is Police Motuan, and—having little grammar or syntax—it bears about the same relationship to Motuan as Pid gin English does to English.

The new radio feature may help to spread Police Motuan. and give it an advantage over Pidgin English, which has been creeping across from the Mandated Territory since the Jap invasion came, and the military administration broke down the old border barriers. Most of the New Guinea natives are now return ing to their own Territory. Their Papuan cousins will talk Pidgin with them, but they "do not like Pidgin, and will not talk it among themselves.

IT is the purpose of the promoters of the scheme to use the Police Motuan language to advance the natives’ knowledge of English. The natives are eager for knowledge, and those who have acquired enough education to read Eng lish (mostly through the mission schools) will take what they can from books, and

pass it on to their uneducated fellews.

The officials made an appeal in Aus tralia, through “Women’s Weekly,” for books for the Papuans, and they had a remarkable response, and about 500 letters.

The books thus obtained (mostly books written for children) formed the nucleus of the present small but growing library, of which the Papuans are gladly avail ing themselves.